As the primary advocate of Houston's business community, the Greater Houston Partnership is closely monitoring the situation. We are in constant dialogue with state and regional public officials, some of the region's largest employers and medical experts to ensure a healthy work force and business continuity.

Below is a list of regional, state-wide, federal and international resources that are kept updated with the very latest developments.

Economic Impact of Influenza on the Houston Region

What does all this mean for Houston? If 20 to 40 percent of the population becomes infected with the virus, as some studies suggest, 1 to 2 million Houstonians would come down with the flu and 3,000-4,000 would die. A severe outbreak, like the 1918-1919 pandemic, would translate to 30,000 to 35,000 deaths in Houston. In a mild pandemic, Houston’s gross regional product would drop by about $5 billion (based on CBO estimates for the U.S. economy); in a severe pandemic, by about $16 billion.

Human Impact

Given global air travel, the virus could spread rapidly, leaving little or no time to prepare. Vaccines, antiviral drugs, and antibiotics would be in short supply and distributed unevenly. It would take months before an effective vaccine would be widely available.

How many people would get sick? In a typical influenza pandemic, 20 to 40 percent of the population is likely to become clinically ill. How many would die? Best case scenarios, based on the mild pandemics of 1957-58 and 1968-69, project U.S. deaths around 200,000 and global deaths in the range of 2 to 7.4 million. Other estimates that assume a more virulent virus, one similar to that responsible for the deadly 1918-19 pandemic, indicate a much higher number of deaths. If one translates the rate of death associated with the Spanish influenza to the current population, there could be 1.9 million deaths in the United States and 180 to 360 million deaths globally.

For more information please visit our H1N1 information page, here.

Pandemic Influenza Summit: Maintaining Business Continuity through Influenza Epidemics

• Maintaining Business Continuity through Influenza Epidemics Agenda
• Influenza Outbreaks — Medical Policy Choices
• Risk Communication — In House & External Media
• Environmental Controls — Prevention & Management
• Human Resource & Legal Issues
• “Fact or Fiction”
• Electronic Access & Telecommuting: What Works
• Trigger Points — Your Flu Plan
• Plan for the impact of a pandemic on your business
• Guidance for the Selection and Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Healthcare Settings

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Pandemic Planning: http://www.uschamber.com/issues/index/defense/pandemic_influenza.htm

City of Houston Health and Human Services Department:
http://www.houstontx.gov/health/

Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services:
http://www.hcphes.org/

Texas Department of State Health Services:
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/swineflu/

Center for Disease Control:
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

U.S. Department of Homeland Security's FAQ on swine flu:
Homeland Security FAQ (PDQ)

World Health Organization:
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html